Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is a name that has been floated for Cincinnati's head coaching position beforeJosh Slagter | MLive.com

EAST LANSING — Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio is expected to address defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi's possible candidacy for the vacant head coaching position at the University of Cincinnati this afternoon.

It will be the first time Dantonio has met with the media since last Sunday night.

The University of Cincinnati head coach opening came about Friday morning, when Butch Jones announced he was leaving the Queen City to accept the head coaching position at the University of Tennessee.

Cincinnati athletic director Whit Babcock held a press conference on Friday and said he would consider coordinators and assistant coaches as well as head coaches for the opening, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"I want to see what their commitment is,'' Babcock said, "what their track record is, maybe at what point they are in their career.''

Babcock began compiling a list of possible candidates back in August. Narduzzi, then part of a Michigan State coaching staff coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons was likely one of the names on it.

Narduzzi,46, actually interviewed for the Bearcats head-coaching position once, back in 2006, when he was named the interim head coach after Dantonio announced he was leaving his head coaching position Cincinnati to take over at Michigan State,

Narduzzi was in the beginning stages of preparing the Bearcats for a pending bowl trip, but Brian Kelly was hired soon after and coached the game.

Michigan State finished this season ranked in the top 10 nationally in all four major defensive statistical categories, but the Spartans defense couldn't hold fourth-quarter leads in three of the team's final four losses, and it allowed Northwestern to break a fourth-quarter tie after a breakdown in the secondary.

While Dantonio is not expected to discourage schools from pursuing Narduzzi, he will want to know the future of his defensive coordinator soon, as it can have an effect on the stability of the incoming and future recruiting classes.

The Spartans begin their preparations for their Dec. 29 game against TCU (7-5) in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.